It turns out that Qin Muye was too hasty. Converting six monster workshops into Magic-Energy Monster Workshops wasn't a problem, but he ran out of money.
Firstly, converting 49 monsters into Magic-Energy Monsters required an additional 70 gold coins. With the money saved from yesterday and today, he had 5,000 gold coins. However, the existing monsters in the Mage Tower territory required 3,430 gold coins. Adding the ten monsters led by Blood Magic, he needed a total of 4,130 gold coins.
Even with the 2,000 gold coins expected from the two gold mines tomorrow, he could recruit at most 20 Magic-Energy Monsters. This made Qin Muye a little overwhelmed. He had been focused on researching, thinking that special resources would be the bottleneck, but he never expected gold coins to become the limiting factor.
In these days, Qin Muye found that gold coins were the least useful basic resource for him.
"This is really a penny-pinching situation for a hero." Qin Muye sighed, feeling it was not fair.
He didn't dwell on it, though. Where there's a will, there's a way. Although he realized it a bit late, he understood the importance of gold coins. Research also required funds.
Magic-Energy Monsters could be further improved. In terms of fantasy terminology, these Magic-Energy Monsters were probably at the mid-stage of Tier 1 and could be upgraded to the late stage of Tier 1. However, Qin Muye needed to delve deeper into learning and research. In his estimation, he could probably raise the attack and defense attributes to 10 points and acquire another related skill. Along with two research studies, this would be quite good.
Furthermore, he could train them in the future to become elite-level units.
"But I lack not only money but also heroes."
Now, there was only Blood Magic working tirelessly. This made Qin Muye uneasy. Today marked the seventh day, the last day of the novice period. After today, all the benefits would be limited to the wilderness creatures not attacking the territory autonomously.
In the next 23 days, he would not only face attacks from other lords but also the hostility of the indigenous people.
He considered the indigenous people as potential hidden enemies rather than allies. From the attitude of Murloc Bronzebeard, they seemed to be constrained by the rules of "Lord Era" and were genuine lives. Qin Muye thought that they were probably invaders, as their treatment of the lords was not friendly.
"More importantly, I lack time."
Qin Muye knew his situation. He was weak in combat; even a big goose could chase him away. If it weren't for his learning ability and academic research skills, he would be useless. Thinking about future battles, not only against other lords but also against the indigenous people, made him feel overwhelmed.
"What's most trustworthy are the monsters under my command." Qin Muye sighed. Although he rose to power using methods beyond the game, he was still weak. He couldn't escape his identity as a bestowed lord, and his foundation still relied on "Lord Era."
The sky was getting dark, and Blood Magic returned with ten monsters. Seeing that the originally small monsters had turned into human-sized Magic-Energy Monsters, he was stunned. The change was beyond his expectations.
As a hero unit, he could clearly feel the qualitative change brought about by the magical power and elemental power within the Magic-Energy Monsters.
But he didn't ask too much. Instead, he went to report to Qin Muye about the harvest.
The harvest was quite good, considering it was only one day and night. However, Qin Muye let Blood Magic rest and recover his spirits. Blood Magic had reached level 4, barely enough. After today, it might be different, as he would need Blood Magic's help. He needed Blood Magic to take advantage of this break and rest well.
The remaining ten monsters were also arranged to be converted into Magic-Energy Monsters, costing another 700 gold coins and further reducing Qin Muye's gold coin reserves.
"Three novice-level treasures, two level 1 magic scrolls, and one building blueprint. That's quite a lot."
As for basic resources and special resources, Qin Muye didn't bother to check. The former totaled around 3,000, averaging about 1,000 each, and the latter didn't even add up to three digits.
[Standard Shield]
[Level: Novice]
[Attributes]
[Defense +2]
Qin Muye couldn't help but smile wryly at this novice-level shield. Why did Blood Magic give it to him? He could have equipped it himself. He still did so, and the shield's defense +1 was a breakthrough for him.
[Apprentice Robe]
[Level: Novice]
[Attributes]
[Knowledge +1]
[Defense +1]
Qin Muye was quite pleased with this apprentice robe. Finally, there was something he could wear. The standard armor was too heavy for him; it could be worn for a while, but not all day.
He happily put it on, and the +1 defense was an unprecedented breakthrough for him.
[Apprentice Staff]
[Level: Novice]
[Attributes]
[Strength +2]
"I thought this thing was a fire stick. I didn't expect it to be a staff?"
Two strength points were excellent. Until now, his strength was still 0. After wearing it, the magical damage and effects on him increased significantly, especially the Magic Missile spell, which increased from 10 to 30, more than his arduous cultivation.
"There are also two magic scrolls: Level 1 Water Magic - Healing and Level 1 Air Magic - Attack Speed."
"If this were a magic book, it would be much better. Magic scrolls are a bit difficult to learn, especially water and air magic."
"But one skill knows all skills. Let's learn Healing first. I have to work overnight again tonight; I hope I can catch up."
With the 1st level Water Magic - Healing, the survival ability of Blood Magic and the Magic-Energy Monsters under him would increase significantly.
[Magic Scroll - Healing]
[Magic Level: 1]
[Effect: Restore 10 health points to allied units]
[Magic Scroll - Attack Speed]
[Magic Level: 1]
[Effect: Increase the speed of selected allied units by 3 points, lasting for 10 minutes]
(end of chapter 19)